BYU routs Tulane

BYU 70, Tulane 35

PROVO, Utah -- If Gary Crowton is taking BYU back to the glory days, he's already mastered the lopsided score.

The surprise was that most of the yards came on the ground, not through the air.

Brandon Doman threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns in Crowton's debut as BYU's new coach, leading the Cougars to a 70-35 victory over Tulane on Saturday in the Black Coaches Association Classic.

It was the first time since 1972 that LaVell Edwards wasn't coaching the Cougars. He retired after last season, capping a 29-year career where he won 257 games, 20 conference titles and the 1984 national championship.

Twenty years ago, BYU (1-0) dominated opponents with the passing game. But led by Doman, a high school option quarterback who also ran for 115 yards and one TD, the Cougars inflicted plenty of damage with the rush.

Luke Staley ran for 142 yards and Brian McDonald had 103 yards, each scoring three touchdowns as BYU got 437 of its 726 yards on the ground. Doman was named MVP of the game.

Tulane (0-1) struck first, needing only five plays before Mewelde Moore broke to the right on a counter that went 75 yards for a TD. But Staley had six carries for 102 yards and three scores in the first quarter as BYU led 21-14.

The first half was more like pingpong than football, as the teams scored on most of their brief possessions. At one point there were four straight scoring drives, each consuming less than one minute.

The Cougars seized control with Doman's three second-quarter scoring passes, two of them to Spencer Nead. On the second, two Tulane defenders tipped the ball before it bounced to Nead and he ran in for a 27-yard play.

That gave BYU a 42-21 lead with 5:52 before halftime. Tulane's Patrick Ramsey answered with a 10-yard TD strike to Moore, but McDonald gave the Cougars a 49-28 halftime lead with his 26-yard scoring run with 42 seconds on the clock.

It was a big day for Crowton, who puffed his cheeks and blew out a big sigh after running onto the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium ahead of his players. Then Crowton donned a headset to call plays, something Edwards never did.

The fiery Crowton also barked at referees when they approached the BYU sideline. Another time, he ran over to point at the ground where a Tulane runner went out of bounds.

The easygoing Edwards usually strolled the sidelines with his arms crossed and his face folded into a scowl that belied his friendly personality.

Edwards watched from a suite with his wife, Patti. When he received a distinguished service award before kickoff from Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson, Edwards received a standing ovation.

The teams combined for a mind-numbing 1,234 total yards. BYU didn't face fourth down until five minutes into the second half, when Matt Payne missed a 50-yard field goal try.

The crowd of 49,008 was the smallest since the 65,000-seat stadium was expanded from 28,812 in 1982. A crowd of about 55,000 watched BYU's victory over Texas A&M in the 1996 Pigskin Classic.

This article published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Sunday, August 26, 2001.